This was won by Wendy
in the Moonridge Auction. She wanted a scene where Jake is singing, all by
himself. Thank you, Wendy, for liking Jake enough to benefit Moonridge. :) Explanation required: There is a huge novel-like thing being written
by me which picks up after Jake's first Fourth of July. It's the big "vacation"
story. This story would technically take place almost immediately after the
vacation story and while something from the vacation story is vaguely hinted at
here, this is a stand-alone. Also, if you have now read A Day at the Zoo, well,
this story actually fits *before* A Day at the Zoo. If you haven't read it, but
plan to? Read this one first.

Sunday, September 10, 2000 - 19 days to the Big Five

"It's in less than three weeks, Sandburg."

"Mmmm...."

"Three. Weeks. There's a lot to do in three weeks."

Blair glanced up from his section of the Sunday papers. "Jim, you planning on
baking the cake now? Freezing it, maybe?"

"Don't be an idiot--"

Sandburg's arched eyebrow forced Jim to take a verbal step backward.

"I don't mean idiot, in the idiot sense of the word, I just mean--"

"Take your foot out of your mouth, Jim."

"Look, this is the big one. This is the year he moves from toddler to--"

"No, that was his fourth birthday."

"What? No. I'm sure Keeba told me that a child is no longer considered a
toddler when they turn five."

"Jim, does he toddle?"

"What? No, of course not--"

"There you go," Blair said by way of ending it.

"So... what is he?"

"He's a pre-schooler."

"Sandburg, he's in school. You know, that green building where we drop him
off at every morning, and where your mother picks him up?"

"He's a kindergartner because his birthday is the end of September, Jim."

"Thank you for that brilliant clarification. Can we get back to discussing
the birthday party?"

"We invite kids, we have balloons, cake, ice cream, a horse and games. The
party lasts two very long hours, everyone goes home, you spend several hours
picking ice cream sprinkles out of the furniture, Jake spends several happy
hours playing with his haul, and next year, we do it again."

"You never had a traditional birthday party, did you?"

"Traditional? Has anything about my life with Naomi indicated traditional?"

"Point taken, Sandburg."

"How many am I up by?"

"I should keep count when you're clearly winning?"

"Silly me."

"Birthday party?"

Blair brought his legs up and dropped them down on Jim's lap, and
consequently, on Jim's section of the papers. "Didn't we just have that
discussion?"

"No, you had that discussion."

"So what do you want to do? You're obviously angling for something beyond the
traditional idea of a party, so spill."

Jim scratched his chin, then the bottom of Blair's right foot. "Well, now
that you mention it... you know that field behind Simon's place?"

"Ye-es," Blair said, now very suspicious.

"Well, I was thinking... a couple of fun rides, one of those plastic blow-up
jumping things, picnic benches, maybe a piata, a barbecue, maybe make ice cream
from scratch, the kids can take turns cranking it, maybe--"

"Maybe it'll rain," Blair offered dryly.

"Nope. I can tell these things, Sandburg. No rain. Sun. Wonderful sun."

"A field. For a birthday party." Blair sighed. "I had such nice visions of
the courtyard all decked out with streamers and a banner, and everyone pitching
in--"

"And doing all the work," Jim added.

"... and doing all the work, while we--"

"Got all the credit," Jim added.

"... got all the credit," Blair said dreamily.

"Oh, Chi-ef," Jim singsonged, "if we work this right, our good buddies will
do all the work anyway."

"You know, Jim, if we work this right, we can get our good buddies to do all
the work."

"No, really?"

Smiling innocently, Blair let his foot play in Jim's lap. "Really."

"Your foot's having fun, isn't it?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah. I'm starting to get jealous."

"Feel free to join it."

Blair leaned forward, eyes on the nice tent in Jim's sweats. "What time are
they bringing our almost five year-old son back?"

Jim looked at his watch. "We have three whole hours, Sandburg."

Massaging the "tent", Blair said, "I love it when you call me Sandburg."

Jake walked into the kitchen and up to his father, who was rinsing tomatoes
in the sink. He yanked on his jeans and said, "did you know that i'm almost
five?"

Jim looked down and gave his son a puzzled look. "almost five what?"

"just... five," he said, nudging the word at Jim.

"Five...inches? Five... feet?"

"no... five."

"O-oh. five. So you're almost five minutes away from helping me with
dinner. I get it now."

Jake frowned and stuck out his lower lip. "poppy, i be almost five
years old." He gave his father's leg a light push, his newest habit of
late, and added, "i want a whole lot of stuff, poppy, so you and daddy
should start saving your money now, 'kay?"

Jim picked Jake up and walked over to the table. He slid in and positioned
the boy on his lap as he said, "You want a whole lot of stuff, do you?
Well, daddy and I will need to know in order to properly save, so shoot, Hoss."

Jake tapped his lip and stared up at the ceiling for several seconds before
saying, "okay, maybe... a bike? a real one? and a reeeeeal kits jacket, and," he
hopped down and grinned like a loon, "i wanna horsey." With that, he bounced out
of the kitchen.

"A horse?" Jim said to the stove. "Dear God."

Jim unzipped his jeans and said, "Our son gave me his birthday list today."

The tone was definitely, "Oh, by the way, the world ends tomorrow," so Blair
stopped undressing and offered, "Really?" His tone easily conveyed the question,
"What time tomorrow?"

"He wants," Jim wiggled out of the jeans, "a bike. A real one."

"As opposed to?" Blair wiggled his head in time with Jim's wiggle.

"Another baby bike with training wheels?"

"Ah." Blair debated asking more because he was really enjoying Jim's strip
act, and talking about the end of the world would probably put a real damper on
what he hoped would be the end result of said strip act, namely sex. He shimmied
out of his jeans and kicked them into the corner with his shoes. His shirt
followed next, and when he was down to just his boxers, he walked over and
wrapped his arms around Jim and began to pepper his back with kisses.

"And a horse," Jim said, allowing the other shoe to drop.

End of the world. Heavy music. Sexual urges severely dampened.

Damn.

"A horse?" Blair stepped back, arms dropping to his side.

"A horse," Jim said as he turned to face Blair.

"A horse." Blair walked to the window and stood silently, eyes focused on the
park that butted up against the carports. "A horse. Okay - this isn't a bad
thing - exactly. Children learn a great deal with a horse to take care of,
right? You had a horse. Of course, the actual buying part is kind of tricky, and
I'm thinking our bathroom is a bit small... but we can handle this."

"Yes, I had a horse, yes I learned a great deal. And I agree that our
bathroom is a bit small for a barn. So how - exactly - are we going to handle
this?"

Blair turned around and grinned. "We tell your dad," he said triumphantly.

Jim's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that we tell my father, and then let him
do what we both know he'll do, which would be to buy our son a horse?"

His expression clearly told Blair he'd better not have said just
that. But Blair knew Jim like the back of his hand, or his dick, or better
still, Jim's dick, so he said, "Yep, that's what I'm saying."

"He said he wanted a whole bunch of stuff, but all he told me was a bike, a
jacket, and a horse. Should we be worried about that?"

"We had the kind of sex that should be on film and preserved at the
Smithsonian, and you're back on Jake's birthday?"

"It was good, wasn't it?"

"Duh."

"But still... should we be worried?"

"Nah. To Jake, a bike, a jacket, and a horse is a lot. But I suspect
we can come up with our version of a whole bunch of stuff, and Naomi will do her
thing, and Steven his, and Simon--"

Jim took Blair's semen-coated finger and stuck in his mouth. After a thorough
sucking, he said, "I get it, Chief. I get it. So we just do our thing. And my
party idea."

"You're really into this, aren't you?"

Jim splayed his fingers over Blair's face and gently pushed his head back.
"Get outta here. You know as well as I do that you're just as into this as I am.
And just what kind of birthdays did you have, anyway?"

Blair dropped onto his back. He raised his arms, clasped his hands behind his
head and said thoughtfully, "Kind of weird ones, I guess. I really remember the
one in San Francisco though. Mom took me down to the wharf -- not the touristy
end of it -- the real thing. She bought me ten oysters - I was turning ten - and
told me that I could look for a pearl inside them. She said the world was my
oyster and if I found a pearl, my fondest wish would come true."

Jim flipped over onto his side and propped his head up with his hand. He
reached out and with his finger, tucked a stray curl back behind Blair's ear
before letting the back of his hand caress Blair's face. "Did you find one?"

"Do you really think my mom would buy me ten oysters and let me go through
all that if there weren't a pearl in one of them?"

Jim chuckled soft and low. "Ah, the old 'hide the pearl in the real oyster'
gambit, eh?"

Laughing with him, Blair nodded. "That was my mom."

"Tell me more," Jim asked as he started playing with Blair's hair.

"Well, you know about the knife for my bar-mitsvah, right?"

"Right."

"But what you don't know - is that we were in Israel at the time."

"Don't tell me. You were on a kibbutz, right?"

"Yep. And not just any old kibbutz. The one Naomi chose was based on the
biblical philosophy of, and I quote, 'to till the earth and preserve it.' It was
called Kibbutz Lotan and everything was designed to create ways to live in
harmony with their desert environment. We stayed there for over six months."

Blair smiled softly, the memory clearly a good one. "It was one of the
greatest times in my life - until I met you."

"Someday, you'll have to share all your adventures at Kibbutz Lotan."

"What makes you think I had," he made little quote marks in the air,
"'adventures'?"

Looking at him in disbelief, Jim said, "We're talking you, buddy. Of course
you had adventures."

"Okay, okay, so I had a few."

Jim moved from playing with the hair on Blair's head to the hair on his
chest. "So I guess this little party idea of mine for Jake pales in comparison,
eh?"

"Not at all. In fact, there were a couple of birthdays on the road where
neither of us even remembered. I guess I'm still so surprised, after almost a
year with you and Jake, that you get so wrapped up in these kind of things." He
turned over onto his side so he could face Jim. "You're a great father and I
think Jake will remember this birthday for a long time. Oh, and you're going to
handle all the details. I'll just sit back and watch. And laugh."

"How hard could one little birthday party be, Chief?"

Blair didn't answer, choosing instead to simply raise one eyebrow.

"Right. Okay, so what? I can do this. I'm a cop, ex-Army Ranger. Sentinel of
the Great City. I can do this."

Blair patted him on his bare ass. "That's right, honey. You just keep saying
that, okay?"

"Sometimes, I really hate you, Sandburg."

Monday, September 12, 2000 - 18 days to the Big Five

Down on one knee in front of his son, Blair adjusted his coat and pulled the
hood up over Jake's blond curls. "Okay, warm enough?"

Jake nodded and the hood flopped back down. Giggling, he said, "i be plenty
warm, but i don't think my hood will stay, daddy!"

Laughing, Blair pulled it back up and tied the string. "There, now it will.
Okay, you ready for school?"

Blair stood, grabbed his own jacket, checked his pocket for his keys, nodded
when his fingers connected with them, and finally reached around Jake and opened
the front door. They both walked out into the courtyard, the brisk, almost-Fall
air greeting them. As he closed the door behind him, Jake ran over to the koi
pond to say good-bye to his fishies - his daily pre-school ritual - before
trotting back to his father.

Slipping his hand into his father's and starting to skip alongside him, Jake
asked, "who will pick me up at my nomi's, daddy?"

"I'm thinking me. Jim may be in court too long this afternoon to make it to
your grandmother's."

"okey-dokey."

They'd reached the Volvo and, shortly thereafter, Jake was safely tucked into
his car seat in the back and Blair was backing out of the car port. As he turned
right out of the driveway, he said, "Look, I have an idea. If I finish early
enough and poppy is still at court, what say that when I pick you up, we meet
him at Luigi's for a spaghetti dinner?"

Jake clapped his hands happily. "yipppeee!"

Blair figured that was a yes.

Making the left onto Wilmington, Blair missed the parked car and the man
seated in the driver's seat - holding a video camera and following the Volvo's
turning movement.

Jim strode down the long corridor, his anger a clear and present danger.
Beside him, Simon found himself, in spite of his three plus inches over the man,
hurrying to keep up. He finally reached out and snagged Jim's jacket.

"Okay, okay, let's slow it down before you set the place on fire, Detective."

The man in question yanked his arm away from Simon's grip and kept going.
Simon stopped and, in a voice long recognized as his command voice, said, "I can
make that an order, Ellison."

Jim slowed and gradually came to a stop. He closed his eyes and grunted.
Simon came alongside, took his arm again, and led him to a bench. Pushing him
down, he said, "That's better. Now take several deep breaths... that's it. Damn,
I wish Sandburg were here, he could calm you down."

Eyes still closed, Jim muttered, "You're doing okay. And I'm glad he isn't
here to see what passes for justice in Cascade."

Simon took a seat next to Jim and said, "Look, it's not over. The case may
have been dismissed for lack of evidence, but the DA can re-file when we bring
him more evidence."

"What more do you want? We have the computer records, Singleton's testimony,
we--"

"Computer evidence that could have been tampered with, testimony from a man
who was fired for theft and showed up on our doorstep twenty-four hours
later...."

He deliberately let his words trail off, knowing full well that Jim was
getting it.

"Yeah, well, we also have what I both saw and heard, Simon."

"Yep, we do. And you were two blocks away at the time and it was two in the
morning - a foggy two in the morning. All of which means - we need to
get more evidence. The judge was listening, he was hearing, but he was also
doing his job. The DA should never have--"

"Speaking of the DA, don't even try to tell me that Wilson isn't in
Henderson's pocket, okay?"

Simon sat back, shoulders slumped. What could he say? There was a very real
possibility that Jim was absolutely right. A fact that he hated with all his
soul. He'd known Mark Wilson for over twenty years and until the Henderson case,
would have said that he'd trust him with his life. Hell, with Daryl's life.
Now... a flea wouldn't be safe.

Like a very old man, Simon got to his feet. "Come on, Jim. Let's get back to
the station and work this out. And don't forget, we're looking at a silver
lining. It's only ten and we're outta here."

"That makes me feel so much better. Not." But Jim got up and followed his
captain.

"So now what?" Blair asked from his perch on the edge of the conference table
in Simon's office.

"So now - it's back to work, gentlemen. We do what we do best - we
investigate. We tear his people apart, dig into every dark corner, put the
screws to him and hope one of his people squeals. Basically, we nail the man,"
Simon answered, his arms crossed over his chest.

When Jim didn't offer any comments, Blair glanced over at where he stood at
the window, his back to them. "Jim?"

"I heard. So it's back to the basics. Fine."

Blair stood up and, ignoring the stiff back Jim presented, said, "I'm going
to hit the computer, see what more I can dig up. And by the way, I promised Jake
we'd eat at Luigi's tonight."

"Fine."

Blair shared a look with Simon, who shrugged and gave a small shake of his
head signifying that Blair should leave Jim alone. Knowing better, Blair paused,
hand on the door knob, and added airly, "Good thing you always bounce back from
these minor setbacks, man. If you didn't, no one would ever get caught. And I
have to tell you, I'm looking forward to bringing Henderson down. Of course,
this is going to be very tricky for Simon...."

He let his voice trail off before opening the door. "You coming, Jim?"

Jim nodded and they followed him into an oak-paneled room lined with book
shelves.

Wilson stopped in front of his desk and faced them. "So, what brings you
here, Detective?"

"You mean besides Walter Henderson?"

"Judge Emerson did the only thing he could, Detective. You didn't have enough
evidence."

"You're the DA, you took it to court. Not once did you even hint that we
didn't have enough, not once did you tell us to get more." Jim let that sink in,
catalogued the man's physical responses, and knew he was dealing with a man on
the edge. He decided to go for the jugular. "How did he get to you?"

Wilson's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure what you mean, Detective Ellison. And
if this is how you handle doing a half-assed job--"

Knowing without words what his partner was doing, Blair jumped in right on
time. "Your wife and daughter are very ill, aren't they, Mister Wilson?" he
said, voice soft and full of sympathy. "I thought maybe... that was how.
Hospital bills mounting up, maybe. But our search into your records show a good
health insurance package and a nice bank balance, so ... how? Did he threaten--"

Blair didn't have to say anything more. Wilson made his way around the desk
and sank into the chair. For a moment, he closed his eyes and sighed. Finally,
he looked up. "Do you have children, Detective?"

He was looking at Blair, who nodded. "Yes, I do. A son--"

"Then take care of him, Detective. Take good care of him. Don't ever let
anything happen to him. And if you're going to take on Henderson, send him out
of harm's way."

Wilson sat back and wiped his forehead. In a voice miles distant, he said,
"My wife had Leukemia when she was young. She was given an experimental drug,
the cancer went into remission and she was, after five years, pronounced cured.
Later, years later, the drug was discovered to cause another kind of cancer,
very rare. She passed it onto our daughter in the womb. Like Aids. We're
fighting it, as you can imagine. My wife and daughter are, even now, at Saint
Luke's. I'm supposed to drive up tonight." Slowly he reached down and opened the
middle drawer of his desk. He pulled out a large manila envelope and pushed it
across the shiny surface of the desk toward Jim.

With a look of infinite sadness, Jim picked it up and opened it. He slid out
two eight-by-ten glossy photos and showed them to Blair, who winced.

The first showed a woman approximately Jim's age. She was asleep in a
hospital bed, an IV hooked up to her arm. She was painfully thin, her hair
sparse. It was obviously a very unguarded moment as both Jim and Blair could see
a head-wrap scarf on the rail of the bed. The second photo showed a small girl,
maybe a year or two older than Jake, also in a hospital bed. She, like her
mother, was sound asleep. The difference was that on her chest was a piece of
cardboard and on it the words, "IT WOULD BE SO EASY" had been written in red.

"I didn't have to do much, as it happened. Just took it to trial too soon.
That's all. This time."

Puzzled, Blair said, "Why didn't you just come to us? We could have
protected--"

"We both know you can't really stop someone if they want to hurt you or your
family. And how could I put them in danger like that? Now, of all times?"

Jim didn't have an answer, but he did have a question, and while he was
pretty sure he knew the answer, he had to ask. "Will you testify? It's all we
need now. We can end this. You know he murdered Gibson and his wife - executed
them. Help us, Wilson."

Face suddenly years older, Wilson looked up and shook his head. "Is it worth
my wife's life? Or my daughter's? She's only six."

"We can protect them," Blair said quietly. "In spite of what you think, the
police are very good at it. Help us stop him."

"Who did you talk to, Mister Wilson?" Jim prodded gently.

"It was Stevens, Henderson's right hand man. He actually came to my office -
in broad daylight. That's how certain Henderson was that I'd cave. That he'd
win."

With a look and nod from Jim, and even as Jim was taking out his cell phone,
Blair walked over to Wilson. "Sir, we need you to come with us. We'll need your
statement and then we'll get you to a safe--"

"NO!" Wilson was up instantly and moving away from Blair. "You said you'd
protect my family--"

"I'm taking care of that now, Sir," Jim said as he indicated his phone.

"Then I need to be with them. If you can protect them, you can protect me
with them. I won't leave them alone."

"It would be easier, Jim," Blair said, his expression full of sympathy for
the man.

Jim couldn't argue the logic.

Jim took the chair in front of Simon's desk while Blair did his usual
perching, this time on the edge of the desk. It was a testament to the day's
events that Simon didn't so much as blink at the infraction.

"Okay, who do we have on the list?" Simon asked.

Blair opened the folder in his hand and started reading off names, all
detectives, all considered to be the most trustworthy. Of those listed, only
three were outside of Major Crime. When he was finished, he closed it and added,
"Right now, the staff responsible for the care of Beverly and Patty Wilson are
being thoroughly investigated. We'll be taking down the number of people who
will be allowed anywhere near them to a manageable level."

"Good, good. And Wilson's statement?"

"Almost done," Jim assured him. "Connor and Brown are with him now. When
we've got everything we need, we'll be taking him to Saint Luke's by helicopter.
Roof to roof, Sir. Very little chance of Henderson making a try for him that
way."

"Excellent."

At that moment, Joel poked his head around the door. "Jim, this just arrived
for you. I wouldn't have interrupted, but it's marked urgent." He held out a
paper-thin package.

Something about the innocuous envelope sent shivers running up and down Jim's
spine and, judging by the way Blair moved forward, he was receiving the same
vibes. Jim beat him to the hand-out, opened it - and hissed out a low, angry,
"Damn."

Blair moved next to him, knowing in his gut what he was going to see.

In Jim's hand - a photo. Just one.

Of Jake.

Proud that his voice wasn't shaking, Blair said, "From this morning, Jim. I
dropped him off and he turned and ... that. He... waved. You know, the way he
always does." Then in wonder, "From this morning."

Simon was on his feet in an instant. Even as he moved to Jim's side, Jim was
handing him the photo. Simon took one look at the happy, smiling face of Jake
and said, "Obviously Henderson knows you visited Wilson. But I can't believe he
had the gall to have it delivered here. Not some place private, where you'd find
it when you were alone, oh, no, right here, where you work, and knowing that it
would be delivered no matter where you were."

Blair listened as he took out his cell. A moment later, the phone on the
other end was answered.

//"Mount Rainier School, may I help you?"//

"Yes, this is Detective Sandburg. I'd like to speak with Mrs. Andrews. This
is an emergency." He just had time to make eye contact with Jim when another
voice came on.

//"Detective Sandburg? This is Betty Andrews. What's wrong?"//

"As you know, my son Jake is in Mrs. Wheaton's class in room twelve. I need
you to make sure no one goes near him other than your staff and you need to keep
him in the classroom until Detective Ellison arrives. Is that clear?"

//"I'm on my way now."//

Blair, thanking God and everyone else for a principal with a brain, hung up.
Jim opened the door and without a word, both men sprinted for the elevator even
as Simon began barking orders.

Down in the parking lot, Blair grabbed Jim's arm, his face pale, the
underground lighting giving it a pasty cast. "Jim, you know... I need to--"

"I know, Chief. I know. I'll meet you there. Don't worry."

Blair nodded and added, "Don't scare him, Jim. Don't ... scare him."

"I won't. Now go."

Blair ran for the Volvo while Jim sprinted for the truck. A few moments
later, they pulled out onto the street, one behind the other, with Blair turning
left and heading for his mother, Jim turning right and the school.

He took the steps two and three at a time but was barely breathing hard when
he knocked, rather frantically, on the door to 307. He was getting ready to bust
it down, even though it had only been seconds, when his mother opened the door.

"Honey, what--"

"Mom, get your purse and come with me now."

Naomi was nothing if not well versed in cop-speak, and her beloved son was
currently using his most formidable cop voice. She didn't hesitate. She grabbed
her purse from the chair even as Blair was holding out her coat. She slipped
into it and allowed him to guide her out the door. As they descended the stairs,
she wasn't even surprised by the way he kept his hand near his gun. Something
was wrong, but the time to ask questions was not now.

Jim ran down the hall of the private school but as he turned the corner that
would lead him to his son's room, he slowed to a more acceptable pace, not
wanting to scare any one he might encounter. He could hear the children from
Jake's classroom asking questions about colors, could hear Jake, voice calm and
untroubled asking if he could use another tube of blue. Jim couldn't help
himself; he smiled. Then he rested against the cool tiled wall of the school and
closed his eyes. His senses on alert, he spent precious minutes calming down so
that his son wouldn't sense any unrest, worry or fear. When he was certain he
was ready, he faced the door and knocked. He could hear the scraping back of a
chair followed by the sound of high-heels clicking on the linoleum. A moment
later, he was facing Jake's teacher. She looked back, motioned for the
principal, and stepped out into the hall.

Principal Andrews joined them a few seconds later. She looked unruffled and
calm as she said, "No one who shouldn't be here, has been anywhere near Jake or
his classroom, Detective. Do you need to take him?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I do. And thank you for how you've handled this. I know--"

Principal Andrews lifted a hand to stop him. "It's quite all right. We
understand." She turned to Pam Wheaton and said, "Why don't you get Jake ready
while I keep Detective Ellison company?"

Jake's teacher nodded and disappeared back inside the classroom. Once the
door closed, the principal turned back to Jim. "I don't suppose you can tell me
anything?"

"No, I'm afraid not. But two squad cars are on their way now and they'll
remain the rest of the day. It may also be necessary to have a couple of
plainclothesmen on the premises, but my boss, Captain Simon Banks will let you
know about that. If any strangers show up asking about Jake, or if you receive
any phone calls, contact Major Crime immediately."

"Of course." She held out her hand and when Jim took it, she covered his with
her other one. "I hope everything is all right. Jake is a wonderful boy,
Detective, with two wonderful parents."

Holding his emotions at bay, Jim said, "Thank you. And thank you again for
your help today."

She was stopped from answering by the opening door and Jake, who looked up at
his father, eyes wide.

"poppy?"

Jim immediately went down on one knee and, while making a fuss over Jake's
jacket, said, "Ssh, don't tell anyone, especially not Mrs. Wheaton or Principal
Andrews, but we're busting you out of here today and letting you spend some time
with daddy and me at the station. How does that sound?"

Looking up at his teacher, who grinned, Jake said, "but what 'bout my piccie,
poppy?"

"Well, can you finish it tomorrow?"

Jake looked at his teacher again, who nodded.

"i guess so, but what 'bout my nomi?"

"That's the very best part, Jake. She's going to be there too."

"oh. okay then. we can go now," Jake said with a firm nod of his head. Then
he wagged a finger as he added, "but i have to finish my piccie tomorrow, 'kay?"

Jim fought back a grin. "You got it, Hoss." He lifted his son into his arms,
saluted Principal Andrews and headed out of the school.

Outside, he had all his senses on alert, but the street was quiet and empty.
There were only a half a dozen parked cars - all as empty as the street. As he
put Jake into his car seat, he hoped Blair was having the same success with his
mother.

In the lobby, Blair held his mother behind him as he checked out the door and
the sidewalk beyond. Satisfied that no one was loitering in the vicinity of the
building, he slowly opened the door and stepped out. Keeping Naomi safe on the
other side, he scanned the street, hand on the butt of his gun.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he motioned to his mother and opened the
door. She joined him on the sidewalk and, keeping his arm around her and her
body slightly behind his own, he started for the Volvo. He expected to see a
couple of squad cars at any time, knowing that Simon had ordered them for both
here and Jake's school, but so far, nothing.

What happened next - happened fast. He was just about to step down onto the
street when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a dark blue Ford turn onto
Prospect. The slow and apparent cruising speed of the vehicle, combined with the
fact that all the windows were tinted, sent every single one of Blair's alarms
to go off. In one fluid motion, he had his gun out, while at the same time, the
passenger window of the Ford lowered.

Blair quickly discovered that it wasn't only in television or the movies
where events unfolded in slow motion.

He could feel his hair whip around as he turned, knew he was yelling at his
mother even as he pushed her down and behind a car illegally parked at the curb.
He could see her eyes, wide with terror, as bullets slammed into the building
behind her. He heard the sirens of the finally approaching squad cars, watched
his hand, almost as if it belonged to someone else, fly up, gun nestled against
his palm -- and heard his mother yelling his name even as he began to fire at
the car.

One of his bullets hit its target; the left front tire, and the car skidded
wildly, bounced off a parked car on the other side of the street and back into
traffic. One of the arriving squad cars careened to the right of the
out-of-control vehicle, narrowly missing it, but the squad car directly behind
it wasn't so lucky. The Ford hit it with its tail-end as it swerved again. The
blow was enough to tilt the Ford onto its left tires, and thanks to the blow-out
- the vehicle simply toppled over onto its side.

Silence. Blessed silence.

Three more squad cars had been added to the mix and, together, they
effectively blocked the south end of Prospect. Two officers stood, hats off,
mouths open, as white steam poured out from under the hood of their car. Two
other officers were slowly and cautiously moving in on the Ford, guns out and
ready, and still two others were controlling the quiet crowd of people that had
begun to gather.

Slowly Blair put his gun back into its holster and turned to face his mother.

"Blair? Honey? You okay?"

"I am if you are, Mom."

Naomi blinked at that and finally gave him a half-hearted smile. "I'm fine,
honey. Just ... just fine." She looked over his shoulder at the cops and the
Ford and the crowd and said, "You are going to tell me, right?"

Smiling, Blair took her arm and led her to the Volvo.

"So a classic case of misdirection."

"Yes, sir. Henderson expected us to panic, to send the troops to Jake's
school while his men...."

Jim stopped, his eyes on Blair.

"While his men took Naomi. That's what you were going to say, right, Jim?"

"Right, Chief."

All three men looked out the window of Simon's office, at Naomi and Jake, who
were surrounded by the men and women of Major Crime. Jake was seated on top of
Blair's desk, Naomi behind him. They were laughing as Joel made weird puppet
figures with his hands and Jake tried to copy them.

"We were lucky today, Chief."

"Yeah. We were."

"Gentlemen, we all were. Connor and Brown are on their way to Henderson's
now, warrants in their back pockets. Mark and his family are together, safe and
sound, and we've got two of Henderson's men singing a sweet tune down in
interrogation with Rafe and Evans. I think we're going to be bringing Henderson
down a whole lot sooner than we thought. And if that weren't enough, we get the
pleasure of your mother's company, not to mention Jake's, for the rest of the
day." Simon stood up, took a wrapped cigar from his pocket, waved it around and
added, "Yep, I'd say we're darn lucky." He jabbed the cigar into his mouth and
grinned.

"You know, Chief, he has a point. What say we join our son and your mother?
And don't we owe him dinner at Luigi's?"

"I do believe we do, Jim."

Smiling, Jim opened the door and let Blair precede him out.

"daddy! lookee what i can do!"

They walked up to the desks as Jake started making odd shapes with his small
hands. As he wiggled his fingers, his movements were accompanied by noises that,
thankfully, clued his parents in on what he was making.

"mooooooo...."

"Jim, would you look at that? Jake made a cow," Blair said, amazed.

"Well, I'll be darned, it is a cow," Jim said proudly.

"Uhm, Jake?" Blair touched his chin, a subtle hint that Jake had spaghetti
sauce all over it.

"ooops." Jake giggled and picked up his napkin. As he rubbed it over his
face, he mumbled, "i be very messy tonight."

Laughing, Jim ruffled the blond curls and said, "I'll say. I'm going to check
your ears later to make sure you don't have any spaghetti in there, young man."

Still giggling, Jake went back to eating - one noodle at a time.

Naomi watched from her place on the other side of the booth, her eyes warm
and full of grateful love. She knew she'd have to wait until later to find out
all the pertinent facts, but she was nothing if not patient. For now she was
content to sit, watch, and enjoy her family.

Stuffed to the gills, the Ellison-Sandburg-Porters left Luigi's with the
intention of going to the loft so Naomi could get the unvarnished truth about
the afternoon. As Jim was handing Jake off to Blair, his cell rang. He fumbled
in his pocket, pulled it out, flipped it open and said, "Ellison."

//"Jim, Henderson is dead. He apparently didn't like the idea of submitting
to the warrant. Henri was forced to shoot him when he pulled a gun and fired at
Connor. I held off calling until I had all the facts. He died fifteen minutes
ago. It's over."//

Blair sipped the brandy and watched Jim light the fire. His mother was
putting coffee on in the kitchen and, in what used to be Blair's room, Jake
slept soundly, completely unaware of how close things had been for them today.
No, that wasn't true. Jake was very intuitive and much like a few weeks
previous, when they'd come close to losing him without his knowledge, he'd
crawled onto Blair's lap earlier, content to be close, to sit quietly and play
with Blair's hands. When he and Jim had taken him upstairs to bed, he'd hugged
them both, a bit longer than usual, kissed them both, and then gently patted
each of their cheeks as if to say, "it's okay, everything's okay." Leave it to
Jake to do the comforting. At that moment, Jim joined him and, for a moment, it
was very much like old times.

A late night in the loft, just the two of them, after a hard day on the
streets. Outside, a light rain was falling while inside a fire blazed brightly.
The only difference between now and those "good old days" was the fact that they
weren't alone at all. A small, innocent boy slept safe and sound behind them and
his mother was puttering in the kitchen of the loft she now owned. Blair smiled
as he remembered that there was one other difference between then and now. Now -
or rather - later -- Blair would be making urgent and sweet love to Jim. He
wouldn't have done that in the old days. His smile widened as he brought the
brandy snifter to his lips. An elbow in his side told him Jim was watching him.

"Why the secret smile, Chief?"

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking of the old days."

Jim placed his hand on Blair's thigh and squeezed gently. "There's a lot to
be said for the new days, Chief."

"Ah." He squeezed again and moved his hand up a bit, only to have it swatted
away as Blair mouthed, "Mom". Jim chuckled, took Blair's snifter, swirled the
amber liquid, and finally took a sip. As he put the glass back in Blair's hand,
he said softly, "Tasting you in the brandy will hold me."

Before Blair could say anything, Naomi joined them. She took the couch
opposite and said, "Okay, time to talk, boys."

Blair screwed up his face. "Mo-om, we're not 'boys', okay? The boy is
upstairs and sound asleep in your bed."

"Bla-air, to me, you're boys. Now stop stalling and spill."

Jim put his hand on Blair's arm and said, "Let me."

"Good luck, man," Blair muttered.

"Okay, basically, we've been working on a case involving Craig Henderson--"

"The slum lord?"

"Figures mom would know about him, Jim."

"Of course I do, sweetie. I've been working on the Sixty-Eighth Street
project for over seven weeks, remember? And two weeks ago, we finally traced the
ownership of five of the buildings to Henderson. We've been preparing the
paperwork to deliver to John - you remember Johnny, don't you, honey? Had the
legal aid clinic in Berkeley back in the eighties?"

"Uhm... right, yeah. Didn't his wife name you--"

"No, she did not, young man. He was in love with their housekeeper."

"Oh, right. The wife only thought it was you, what with all the time you
were--"

"We seemed to have strayed from our primary discussion, which is okay by me.
Personally I'm enjoying this walk you two are taking down memory lane," Jim said
with an innocent grin.

"Of course you are, Jim. You won't have to tell me everything if Blair and I
keep it up. But we're not, so you are," Naomi finished pointedly.

Blair drew a "one" in the air in front of Jim's face.

Coughing slightly, Jim smacked his hand down and said, "Yes, well. So...
where was I?"

"Henderson, Jim, dear," Blair said as, with great exaggeration, as he
pretended to nurse his undamaged hand.

"Later, Sandburg," Jim said in a loud stage whisper.

Blair gave a mock shiver. "Oooh, I'm so afraid."

Naomi gave out with an exaggerated sigh, one loud enough to stop her "boys",
and said, "No, Blair, you're wrong. Jake is not the only boy in this loft."

"You heard your mother, Sandburg. Now straighten up."

One eyebrow rose as Blair cocked his head. "I could, Jim, but is that what
you really want?"

"God, I hate you sometimes," Jim said in a put-upon voice.

"Boys? Henderson?" Naomi said in a voice Blair recognized as the rarely used,
"I'm the mother here" voice.

"Jim overheard Henderson discussing the fact that he'd killed a man named
Walter Gibson and his wife. It was a foggy night, Jim was quite a distance away,
so he couldn't very well arrest the man based on what he'd seen and overheard.
But it put the wheels in motion to find the evidence in a more... acceptable
way. We found out that Gibson had owned a company and that he'd lost it
following a hostile takeover by Henderson. We also found out, via Gibson's
computer records and a disk he'd sent to his daughter, that he had proof of some
major wrongdoing on Henderson's part during the takeover.

"Said proof would have put Henderson away for years, hence, we had our
motive. But, Henderson had an iron-clad alibi that we couldn't break -- until
one of Henderson's ex-employee's, Brian Singleton, approached Jim and informed
us that he'd met with Henderson two hours before the murder. This was pretty
significant because, according to Singleton, Henderson met him at his home in
Lexington Heights. Gibson also lived in Lexington Heights, and of even more
significance, Henderson's alibi placed him at the Oakwood Country Club from
seven in the evening until well after midnight."

"Singleton claims to have met with Henderson for thirty minutes. He said
Henderson arrived at eleven, left by eleven thirty. The time of death for Gibson
and his wife was set between nine and midnight."

Seeing Naomi's interest, Jim jumped in. "Plenty of people claim to have seen
Henderson at the benefit, and there was a reporter from the society section of
the Gazette there with a photographer. A photo was taken of Henderson with
Matthew Brady, the director of Cascade General Hospital. But the time of the
photo shoot was early, around eight. Brady himself didn't remember seeing
Henderson much after that, but neither he nor anyone else could be pinned down
precisely."

"So until Singleton came along, you couldn't prove or disprove his alibi -
exactly."

"You're good, Mom."

She smiled. "A year, Blair. A year. Okay, so you had Singleton, and he tore
apart Henderson's alibi. And you had motive. Sounds good to me. What happened?"

"The defense cast doubt on the computer evidence; too easy to tamper with,
and they brought out the fact that Singleton had been fired just twenty-four
hours before he'd shown up at the PD. That was enough for the judge to throw it
out. And yes, rightfully so," Jim added.

"The truth is, mom, we were too caught up in catching him to realize that the
DA was moving too fast and taking it to court too early. We blew it, big time."

Jim then told Naomi about Wilson, his family, and finally, what led to the
"rescue". When he was done, he and Blair waited for the inevitable, "I knew this
would happen some day." It didn't come in the form they both expected.

"Well, I suppose it's part of what any police officer has to deal with. I can
only say that with your senses, Jim, we've got quite a leg up, don't we?"

Jim's mouth dropped open, as did Blair's. They looked at each other, eyes
wide, before turning, in perfect unison, back towards Naomi. Again, in perfect
unison, they said, "Mom?"

Blair turned to Jim and said, "Mom?"

Jim shrugged. "Mom."

Naomi laughed, a young, free laugh, and said, "Mom."

Blair canted his head to the right and made a motion as if clearing water out
of his ear. "This, from the two people who, a few years ago, were flirting up a
storm and sharing tongue on Jim's bed?"

"Now, Blair, honey, you know darn well that Jim was simply pumping me for
information about you. Sharing tongue indeed." She got up, picked up the empty
brandy glass and coffee cups, and straightened. "I hope you both don't think
you're okay with what happened today, because we all know - you're not. But you
will be."

With that, she walked into the kitchen.

With a shake of his head, Jim said, "Damn, she's smart."

Jake never moved as he was carried down to the Volvo, driven home, carried
into the apartment, undressed, and put to bed. Both men stood over him, arms
around each other.

"It was never close with him, but it sure felt like it," Jim whispered.

"I know."

"We just... do the best we can, Chief."

"I know."

"Close calls - a way of life for the Ellison-Sandburg-Porter household."

"Sandburg-Ellison-Porter."

"Seniority has its privileges, and we've had this conversation before. It's
Ellison-Sandburg-Porter."

"I say we do it alphabetically," Blair suggested, his eyes never leaving his
son's face.

"Right. Ellison-Porter-Sandburg."

"No-o-o, Blair-Jake-Jim."

"I walked into that one, didn't I?"

"Oh, yeah."

They continued to look down at Jake. After several minutes, Blair said, "You
know what you said about doing the best we can?"

"Yeah."

"Let's retire to the bedroom and do the best we can."

"I like your thinking, Chief."

They took turns dropping soft kisses on one sweet, warm cheek before moving
quietly into the hall. As they walked to their bedroom, Jim said, "Less than
three weeks, Chief. Three weeks."

"I know...."

Tuesday, September 26, 2000 - three days to the Big Five

The table in the conference room was littered with papers, empty coffee cups,
and boxes holding the remnants of dinner. Outside, it was dark and windy.

"That won't work, Connor," Rafe complained.

"It will. We'll make it work."

"What time is it?" Brown asked as he searched the coffee cups for any with
coffee left that he could down.

"What happened to your watch?"

"Who knows? Who cares. It's late, we've gone nowhere fast, I have a sweet
thing waiting for me, and you guys can't decide--"

"You still seeing Stella?" Blair asked.

"Blair, my man, I said I had a sweet thing waiting for me."

Jim made like he was studying the ceiling as he said slowly, "She has ...
blonde hair; curly. And ... brown eyes. She's friendly, affectionate, and--"

"Whoa, Jim. You mean you've seen her?" Megan asked as she moved the maps
around on the table.

Laughing, Blair said, "A real dog, Rafe. As in Jim figured out that H wants
to get home to his new puppy. Bow-wow?"

Rafe turned puzzled eyes to Brown. "You got a dog?"

Eyes on the ceiling, Brown said, "Yes, Rafe - I got a dog, okay?"

"Wow. You and a dog. A dog. With ... curly hair?" Rafe asked, still puzzled.

"I'm thinking," Jim said as he joined Brown at staring up at the ceiling --
again, "a poodle."

"You are not my friend, bro," Brown said with a disgusted look on
his face.

Incredulous, Connor said, "You got a poodle?"

"Hey, it just showed up, okay? What was I supposed to do, throw it out?"

Slapping him on the back, Blair said, "You're a good man, H. Now, can we get
down to business so we can all go home? Who's in charge of the face-painting
guy?"

"The guy is a gal, and I am," Connor said. "And she's real good too. She's
from the Sixth Precinct and does it every year at the Cascade Founders Day
celebration. She's thrilled to be asked."

"Cool. Okay, Joel, did you get the prices for the Tilt-a-Whirl?" Jim asked as
he leaned over the table, his body language clearly telling everyone it was time
to get back to work.

"Well, you see, Camp James - you remember them, Blair? We helped them when--"

"Oh, yeah, Camp James Productions. They do corporate picnics and stuff, and
summer camps for kids. We took care of--"

"Point?" Brown said as he pointed up to the clock on the wall.

"They're having a big event at Saint Luke's on the Friday night before the
party and as you know, Saint Luke's is around the corner from Simon's, and
they're willing to give us a Tilt-a-Whirl and the small
merry-go-round... and... an ... elephant." At the stares, he said somewhat
defensively, "You know, for elephant rides?"

There was silence for several seconds until Blair finally said, "We're going
to have... elephant rides for Jake's birthday?"

"Well, yes," Joel said, grinning.

"Cool," Jim said.

"But... but... but what about the pony rides?" Connor whined.

"Oh, well, actually... my dad is taking care of that," Jim said after sharing
a conspiratorial glance with Blair.

"What aren't you telling us, Jim?" Joel asked, his interest piqued.

"He's not telling you about Jake's pony."

With a pointed look in Blair's direction, Jim said, "Like I need to tell them
when I have a little bird," he made a motion with his hands, simulating bird
wings, "spilling the beans?"

"What am I missing here?" Rafe asked.

"Rafe, what is it with you and animals? First a dog, and now a horse," H
complained.

Rafe screwed up his face, sratched the top of his head with three fingers and
said, "Now, Ollie...."

"Guys?" Connor said patiently. "The horse?"

"Look, Jake wants a horse for his birthday, okay?" Jim finally said. "And
Sandburg and I may have mentioned this to my - you know - father."

Light bulbs went on over four heads.

"Ah. So you're thinking your old man will buy Jake the horse, right?" H said
with an admiring look at Jim.

"But guys, do you want Jake to have a horse?" Connor, perplexed.
"That doesn't sound like you two. A horse isn't easy to keep and it's a damn
expensive hobby."

"Remember, Jim grew up around horses and stables and--"

"And it's a great way to learn responsibility, not to mention nurturing
animals--"

"Hey, guys," Sandburg interrupted, "don't you think Jim and I have discussed
this? In reality, Jim's dad has purchased a pony, which will be temporarily
donated, in Jake's name, to his school. When he's older and can learn to ride,
it'll be there."

"With Jake?" Jim said with a smile. He grinned at Blair, who grinned back,
and together they said, "Nope."

"Onya, mates!"

Jim gave Blair a quizzical look so Blair said, "It means well done."

"So why didn't she just say--"

A poke in the ribs stopped Jim from sticking his foot any further into his
mouth. Blair grinned as he said, "Look, it's late and I think we have everything
under control, so how 'bout we call it day, or should I say a night?"

"Amen, brother," H said. "I have a pup that is probably crossing its legs in
frustration."

Rafe frowned. "Do dogs--"

Connor hit him up side the head and said, "As in it has to take a LEAK,
Rafe!"

Rubbing his head, Rafe said, "I'm not standing anywhere near you in the
future, Connor."

The laughter that erupted quickly brought a smile to Rafe's face and, as Jim
and Blair began to gather up the maps and plans, Rafe said, still grinning,
"Well, I'm not."

Thursday, September 28, 2000 - two days left

"Have we forgotten anything?" Jim asked as he ran his hands through his hair
again. Tufts of it were now standing on end and Blair was pretty sure Jim had
never looked cuter.

Blair indicated the top of Jim's head and pointed to the mirror on the wall
behind him.

Jim turned and looked. "Well, damn." He quickly ran his fingers through the
mess that was his hair, patting it down until he looked normal again. "I swear,
Sandburg."

Blair cocked his head. "Have you noticed that whenever you want sex, you call
me Sandburg?"

"Sandburg, I call you Sandburg all the time."

"Not my fault you're insatiable and need my body every time I turn around."
He held his arms out from his side and gave a charming shrug. 'What can I say?
I'm irresistible."

There was no way, looking at Blair at his most charming and ingratiating
self, that Jim could stay mad. He grinned even as he gave a small shake of his
head. "Sandburg, you're something, all right. I'm just not sure irresistible is
the right something."

"Baloney. You want me right now."

Jim chuckled and held up a sheet of paper. "What I want right now, is to know
we're done. That this party is set and ready to go."

"We are and it is. All you're doing now is worrying and fussing. I have a few
more items to pick up, but other than that, Saturday is a go. Now, do you want
to take this," he drew his hand down the length of his body, "to the bedroom, or
just do me here on the dining room table?"

A speculative look came into Jim's eyes as he looked at Blair and then the
table. He cocked his head to make sure Jake was soundly sleeping and, satisfied
that he was, rose to his feet. Looking as if Blair's idea was the furthest thing
from his mind, he strolled to the other end of the table. Looking down at his
partner, he said, "Really, Sandburg, how you think we could do anything
on a table covered with birthday party plans is beyond me."

Blair was up in a shot. With one sweep of his arm, the table was clear. The
floor was another story altogether. Before Jim could go into his "sentinel must
live in an uncluttered space" mode, he said, "I'll clean it up -- after."

Jim laughed outright even as he backed Blair up against the edge of the
table. Leaning over him and bending him back, he growled, "Good thing we didn't
polish yesterday. You'd slip and I'd probably break something."

Fumbling with Jim's belt, Blair hissed back, "The only polishing I want to
see done, is you polishing me. Got it?"

Jim nuzzled behind Blair's right ear and whispered, "Oh, I'm going to polish
you all right. And while I'm polishing you, you'll be buffing the tabletop and
I'll get the best of both worlds."

Blair couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside. Even as he was
partially lifted so his butt rested on the smooth surface of the table, even as
Jim busied himself with Blair's zipper, Blair laughed. Jim's own chortles joined
his even as they kissed. His back went down and he was actually on the
table and he was very glad they'd chosen it because it could really hold both
their weights, and then Jim was on top of him, and his jeans were on the floor,
and he was laughing again, but it was quickly muffled as Jim's mouth landed on
his again.

Lord, he loved this man. And the table.

Especially the table....

Friday, September 29, 2000 - Big Five Birthday day

Jake rolled over and cracked open one eye.

It was daylight .. and it was his birthday. Yippee! He bounded out of bed,
snatched up Jakey and immediately ran down the hall to his parent's room. The
door was open a bit and he barged in, not even trying for silence. The shades
were down but it was still light enough to see. He took the floor on a run and,
with a graceful leap that would have made Baryshnikov proud, landed in the
middle of the bed. He crawled up the nearest lump and knocked on his poppy's
shoulder.

Frowning, he gave his daddy's arm a shake. "dad-dee wake
up! i'm five years old now!"

Blair unknowingly mimicked his son's earlier movements by cracking open one
eye. He could just make out his son's face and, hiding his smile, he pulled his
arm out from under the warmth of the covers and patted his son's face. "Too
early, Jake, go back to bed."

Jake reared back, shocked. "but daddy, i'm five years old right
now."

"Actually, you were born at one thirteen in the afternoon, so technically -
you're not five yet. And by the time you are, you'll be with your grandmother
and waiting for your poppy and I to call you from work and wish you a...a...
a--"

"happy birthday, daddy!"

"Right, a happy birthday." He lifted his head and peered at his son. "Jake,
are you absolutely positive that today is your birthday? You could be
mistaken--"

"da-deeee!"

Taking his son off the hook, Blair laughed, grabbed the small boy, and hugged
him fiercely as he whispered, "Happy birthday, Jake." He smoothed back the curls
from Jake's forehead and added, "Birthday breakfast today, remember?"

Jake, now with a huge grin on his face, nodded. "i 'member. and i get to open
one pressie at brekkie, one at lunch with my nomi, and the rest tonight during
my 'xtra special birthday dinner, right? an' i get baked pork chops and macaroni
and cheesy for my special dinner, and i get my all time favoooorite dessert -
choco cakey!"

Jim, who'd been awake for some time, rolled over and plucked Jake from
Blair's chest. Bench pressing the giggling and squirming boy high into the air,
he said with a grin that matched his son's, "Aren't you forgetting cupcakes at
school?"

Laughing wildly, Jake shook his head and stuttered out, "nnn-noo-ooo!"

Jim brought him down within reach of his face and kissed him on the cheek.
"Happy birthday, Jake. You ready for birthday waffles?"

"yippppppeee! me an' jakey are ready, poppy!"

Blair rolled out of bed, ignored his slippers since he was wearing thick
socks, pulled on his robe and said, "Okay, gang, birthday breakfast on its way."
He walked around the bed, grabbed Jake from Jim, tucked him, still giggling,
under his arm and marched out the room and into the hall. "Get your ass in gear,
Ellison."

As he walked down the hall, Jake, stuck against his father's body, kicked
madly and giggled loudly, even as he waved Jakey in the air. "dadddddddy!"

Blair looked down at the bobbing wolfpup and said, "Jakey, do you hear
something?"

"daddddddddeeeeeeeee!"

"I hear something odd, Chief," Jim said as he came up behind his partner.
"And what's this?" He waggled one wiggling and socked foot.

"that's me, popp-eeeeee!"

"Ah, the birthday boy. Isn't it amazing that you have five," he tweaked each
toe on Jake's right foot, "toes and you're five years old today?"

Still giggling, Jake said, "it's a mir-rakle, poppy!"

Blair entered the kitchen, Jim right behind him and still tweaking toes.
Blair deposited his son on the booth seat and said, "Were we having string bean
waffles or spinach waffles, Mister Birthday Boy?"

Blair frowned as Jim walked over the fridge and pulled a sack of frozen
spinach out of the freezer. "Here we go, Chief, the spinach for the waffles."

"See, Jake? I knew it was spinach waffles for your birthday breakfast."

"nononononono, i'm sure i said banama waffles." He leaned in toward his
daddy, put a hand on either side of Blair's face, and when they were nose to
nose, said, "'bery, bery sure!"

Laughing again, Blair swept Jake back into his arms, walked over to the
counter, and sat him down on the edge. "Right, bana*ma* waffles. So it shall
be."

The next several minutes were spent in happy preparation of waffles, bacon
and fresh squeezed orange juice. Jake stirred his waffle mix at his poppy's
directions before helping Blair put the bacon slices on the parchment paper that
Blair spread out on the cookie sheet. When his daddy put him under his arm
again, he giggled and watched as the cookie sheet was carried to the oven. He
helped by opening the oven door and giggled when he was once again deposited on
the bench seat at the table. He sat down on his phone book and watched,
mesmerized, as colorful birthday plates were set down on bright red placemats. A
special birthday cup was placed next to his plate, and his eyes widened as he
recognized his name on the cup.

"daddy, that cup has my name on it!"

"Aren't you the birthday boy?" Jim asked from where he stood at the counter,
the waffle maker pinging to let him know that the first waffle was done.

"i am, poppy, i am!"

"Well, there ya go. Only birthday boys born today, exactly five years ago,
get a very special birthday cup with their name on it." He put the waffle on a
plate, put the plate in the top oven to keep the waffle warm, and started the
second one.

"wow," Jake said as he lifted his cup. He twirled it in his hand and finally
kissed the cup and set it lovingly back on the table next to brightly colored
plate.

Eventually, Jim had three waffles and the bacon was ready. While Blair got
the bacon out, Jim put the crispy, golden brown waffles on a large platter and
watched while Blair arranged the bacon. When he was done, Jim carried the
platter to the table while Blair got the pitcher of orange juice. Both were set
down but before Blair slid into his seat next to Jake, he held up a finger,
looked at the table, and said, "Something's missing."

Blair walked out of the kitchen, and while Jake continued to stand and watch
the swinging door, eyes wide with wonder, Blair popped back in. But his hands
now held one gaily wrapped package about the size of a hat box. He set it in the
middle of the table and said, as he slid in next to his son, "We forgot the
centerpiece."

Jim, holding back his smile, said, "What a stroke of genius, Sandburg. That
almost looks like a real present."

Jake just kept looking at the box, at the bright, shiny, foil wrapped gift
with the curling yellow ribbons. Slowly he reached out to touch it as he said,
"it's beeeeutiful, daddy."

"It is, isn't it? Now eat your waffles before they get cold. We have
boysenberry syrup just for you."

While Jim poured the syrup over Jake's waffle, he continued to stare at the
package. Finally he asked, "daddy, what's a ... center... piece?"

Cutting into his waffle, Blair said, "You know, like last Thanksgiving, the
big turkey in the middle of the table? That's a centerpiece. Something that
decorates the center of the table."

"oh."

Jake continued to stare, his waffle ignored.

"Of course, in this case, our centerpiece is also your first gift of the day
and as soon as you finish your birthday breakfast, you can open it," Blair said
as he shared a conspiratorial look with Jim.

"oh my." Jake dove into his waffle.

The table was cleared, the dishes in the dishwasher, and Jake was free of a
syrupy face. Blair had just returned from the "bathroom" to find Jake bouncing
in his seat, eyes focused on the package that still sat in the middle of the
table, fingers itching to get at it. "now, daddy? now?" he asked as Blair sat
down.

Looking at him with feigned surprise, he asked, "Now what, Jake?"

"Yeah, Hoss, now what, what?"

Blowing out some air, Jake rolled his eyes and said, "my pressie! can i open
it now, please?"

"Oh, that," Jim and Blair said together. Laughing, they nodded, and Blair
said, "It's all yours, Hoss. Go for it."

A huge smile on his face, Jake reached out and brought the package toward
him. He started with the ribbon and, with his fathers help, got it undone. Then
eager fingers went at the paper itself until a square white box was revealed.
Hands shaking, he lifted the lid, got up on his knees, peeled back the tissue
paper... and peered inside. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally
lifted his head and said, "wow."

Jim and Blair shared pleased looks as Jake reached inside and took out the
first item his fingers came into contact with; a huge tin box of water color
paints. Next came a set of paint brushes ranging in size from big and fat to
thin and fine. His eyes grew impossibly wider. He dipped back in and this time
pulled out a huge box of neon colored crayons. Another soft "wow" was expelled
before he placed the box lovingly on top of the tin of water color paints. Back
in he went, this time to pull out a box set of colored marking pens with tips
that looked like brushes. Now smalls jars of colors were removed and he
recognized them as the same kind he used at school. There were five jars in all,
each representing one of the primary colors. The box was now empty.

"ohmy," Jake said again as he gazed with joy upon his haul. He looked up at
his fathers and added, "i can make a whoooooole," he spread his arms out wide,
his fathers leaning back to avoid them, "bunch of piccies now, daddy and poppy!"
He threw his arms around first Blair, and favored him with a huge smooshy kiss
before bestowing the same on Jim. "i'll make the bestest piccies in the whole
wide world now!"

Blair frowned and said, "Uhm, we still seem to be missing something, though."

Looking very thoughtful, Jake said, "what, daddy?"

"I don't know, Jake. Jim, what do you think?"

Jim peeked into the box and said, "Well, it's very empty, Chief. But you
know, he has all these great supplies, but I don't see anything to paint on."

"that's okay, poppy, i have a whole bunch of paper in my room," Jake said
magnanimously.

"Are you sure?" Jim asked, looking worried.

Jake nodded firmly. "i be sure. come on and i'll show you." He put all his
goodies back in the box, gave Jim a soft push, urging him out of the nook, and
when Jim was standing, he slid off his phone book and scooted out and onto the
floor. He started to reach for his box, but Jim leaned over him and picked it
up.

"I'll carry it for you."

"'kay." Jake started out the door, but looked back to ensure his fathers were
following. He led them through their home to his bedroom. At the door, he pushed
his way inside, took three steps and came to a dead stop. "ohmy," he said again.

There, on the other side of his play table, stood a brightly painted - red--
wooden easel with a thick pad of paper in place, just like the ones Jake used at
school. Only difference with the easel in Jake's room was the big yellow bow
draped across the pad. Blair walked past his stunned son and said, "The legs are
adjustable, Jake, so it can even sit on your play table. Right now, it's set to
your height, see?"

Jake walked over slowly, and when he was standing in front of it, he ran a
finger over the smooth red wood and finally down across the lip at the bottom
where his crayons or brushes could sit. "it's so beeeeeeeeutiful, daddy and
poppy. an' it's the most perfectness size for me!" He turned a shining face to
his parents before launching himself at them.

"Okay, your grandmother will be here early to pick you up and she'll be
bringing the birthday cupcakes, okay?"

Jake looked up at his father and nodded. "chocoooolate, right?"

Jim nodded. "With chocolate sprinkles, as ordered, sir!" He gave his son a
mock salute, took his hand, and led him up the steps and into the school. At the
classroom, Jake slipped away to almost jump into Corky's arms, who immediately
said, "happy birthday, jakey!"

Jim watched as the other children gathered around their birthday boy. Jake
immediately started telling everyone about his "birthday brekkie" and all the
presents he'd received in "one bery big box". Jim shook his head at the wording
and wondered when Jake would go back to speaking "normally". Blair seemed to
understand, but Jim just didn't get it.

"Detective Ellison."

He turned to find Jake's teacher standing next to him. "Mrs. Wheaton."

"Sounds as though he had a great morning all ready," she commented with a
smile.

"His father and I may have ... spoiled him ... a bit," Jim admitted.

"I don't think so. Jake is one of the most unselfish children in this school.
Whatever you're doing, it's right." She tucked some hair behind her ear and
said, "We'll be seeing Naomi around noon?"

He nodded, his gaze back on his son. "She'll have the cupcakes and punch." He
faced Mrs. Wheaton again and with a smile, said, "And if she forgets anything,
well, she's new to all of this, so just bear with her."

Surprised, she said, "But surely, with Detective Sandburg--"

"They traveled around quite a bit and birthdays celebrated with classrooms
wasn't usually in the cards."

"Ah, I see. Well, don't worry, we can cover anything she might forget."

"Thank you." Jim raised his hand and caught Jake's eye. Mouthing his
good-bye, he turned to leave and said, "We will see you tomorrow at the party,
right?"

"I'll be there, Detective. Wouldn't miss it."

Jim didn't miss the humor in her voice. He knew darn well she was talking
about the elephant ride.

The loft was filled with the smells of baking pork chops and bubbling
macaroni and cheese. Because Jake's party was the next afternoon and Naomi knew
there'd be decorations galore, she'd gone subtle in the loft. A banner was
stretched across the entrance to the kitchen that proclaimed it "Jake's Day" and
on the dining room table she'd placed a huge balloon-themed centerpiece. In
further efforts to be "subtle", she'd tied three brightly colored mylar balloons
to each chair. The table itself was covered in a red cloth with yellow plastic
plates at each place setting that said "Happy Birthday" in red. It wasn't hard
for anyone to figure that Jake's favorite colors were red and yellow.

At the moment, while Naomi and Jim worked in the kitchen preparing the salad,
and Blair finished frosting Jake's birthday cake, the birthday boy was in what
was his room when he spent the night.

Jim, in the middle of slicing tomatoes, suddenly froze. He cocked his head,
and Blair, used to such moments, stopped what he was doing. Jim finally put a
finger to his lips and moved cautiously toward the French doors while beckoning
to Blair and Naomi. Drawing closer to the doors, Blair and his mother could now
hear what Jim had been listening to.

Jake was singing.

Naomi moved quietly to the opposite side of the doors and Blair sneaked in
front of Jim to get a better view. Inside, Jake was on his stomach at the foot
of the futon, head hanging over the edge, jean-clad legs dancing in the air as
he sang a nonsensical song with words only he understood. His coloring book and
new crayons were on the floor and, at the moment, forgotten in his enjoyment of
his made-up musical score. His voice was high, clear and sweet as only a small
boy's voice can be, while his hands danced in tune with his song as he wove his
magical moment in the small room.

Naomi held a hand to her mouth as she smiled at the sight, her eyes
involuntarily filling with joyful tears. Across from her, Jim rested his hands
on Blair's shoulders as they simply watched and listened.

Eventually, Jim gave Blair a squeeze and they backed slowly away. Naomi, with
a final look at the wonderful sight, followed. As all three of them entered the
kitchen, the oven pinged, signifying that dinner was ready.

Blair hurried over to the cake, finished frosting it, and with a squeeze-tube
of yellow icing, wrote "Happy Birthday, Jake". Then, while Naomi put the salad
bowl on the table and Jim took out the baked pork chops and macaroni and cheese,
he added five yellow candles, put a lid over the cake, set it under the stovetop
and took down Naomi's fancy cake dish with the flowery dome. He set it
prominently on the sink. Jim took off the oven mits and walked back over to the
French doors saying, "If anyone wants dinner, it's ready."

Inside, the singing stopped... and a moment later, a small voice repeated,
"dinner?"

"Yep, dinner. We're having a birthday dinner of liver and onions, rutabaga,
and mushrooms. You ready?"

He waited, grinning. He didn't have long to wait as Jake jumped off the bed
and skidded to a stop at the doorway. He peeked out and up at his father.

"ruta... ruta...bega?"

"Well, sure. Just like you asked."

"liver?"

"Just liked you--"

"but-but-but...."

"But what, honey/" Naomi asked as she wiped her hands with a kitchen towel.
"Isn't that what you requested?"

"but-but--what's... ruta...ruta..bega? because i asked for macaroni and
cheesy with daddy's porky chops and i don't even know what rutybega is so how
could i have asked for it? daddy?"

Blair peered over at the long, glass casserole dish and said, "Well, I'm not
sure, but this looks a lot like liver and onions and mushrooms and rutabaga,
which is a vegetable, and I'm sure you told me that this was what you wanted,
but maybe you'd better come over and look?"

"Yeah, Hoss, why don't you double check?" Jim lifted Jake up and tilted him
upside down before carrying him over to Blair and their dinner. He raised him
high enough so that the now giggling boy could see his birthday dinner, and
said, "There, see? Just like you ordered. Liver and onions covered in fried
rutabaga and mushrooms."

Jake was laughing and wiggling but when he actually looked at the casserole,
he bubbled up with, "that's my mac and cheesy and porky chops, poppy!!!"

"Are you sure, Hoss?"

"i'm bery, bery, bery sure, aren't i, daddy?"

Blair leaned in and sniffed their bubbling, cheesy dinner. "You know, you may
be right. When I thought I was cooking liver, it appears I was actually cooking
pork chops. Well, what do you know about that?"

Jim righted his son and immediately walked over to the table and let Jake
slide down his arm and into his chair. "Well, Hoss, looks like you got what you
asked for after all, eh?"

"you betcha!"

Naomi brought the salad dressing and milk for Jake (beers were already in
place for Jim and Blair) while Blair brought the casserole. He set it down in
front of Jake and took a good whiff. "Mmmm, Jake, you chose well for your
birthday dinner."

Looking proudly up at his father, he said, "i did, didn't i?"

"Yes, you did." Blair forked one of the juicy, golden brown pork chops onto
Jake's plate and followed it up with a couple of heaping spoonfuls of the
macaroni and cheese. He then added a helping of salad - with plenty of croutons
- before passing the bowl to Naomi, who would only be having the salad. Jim
served himself and Blair and then poured Jake's milk. As Blair took his seat,
Naomi said, "Happy birthday, Jake."

Jake already had a forkful of cheese-covered shell-shaped pasta and was
blowing on it. At his grandmother's words, he said, "thank you, my nomi" and,
with a grin, shoved the food into his mouth.

"Yes, well, no one can say our son isn't polite," Jim observed with a wry
grin.

Jake sat on the counter as one father washed and the other dried. He'd been
eyeing the covered cake platter from the beginning even as he kicked his legs
and bounced his tennis shoes off the drawer. Now he leaned around so he was
looking upside down at his father as he asked, "poppy, will i always get what i
want for my birthday dinner?"

"You sure will, as long as it's within reason. It's a tradition. Remember how
I got Wonderburger for mine a couple of months ago?"

"so if i wanted mickey mouse pancakes for dinner, i could have them?"

"Yep."

"so if i wanted peanut butter and banama samwiches, i could have that?"

"Yep."

"so if i wanted... a hot fudgy Sunday, i could have that?"

Jim started to say "Yep", but a nudge in his side by his partner stopped him.
He took his sudsy hand and started to place it over Jake's face, but Jake was
quick. He pulled back, giggling, and said, "i almost had you, didn't i, poppy?"

"Yes, Jake, you did," Jim admitted as he touched a soapy finger to the tip of
Jake's nose.

Looking all the world like a complete innocent, Jake said, "maybe i should
...look?"

"Oh, I don't think that's necessary, Jake," Jim said as he unplugged the sink
and let the soapy water drain.

"but-but-but... maybe there is air with chocolate icing and it's just waiting
for me to open it and try some, poppy."

"Mmmm, well, as soon as daddy is done, why don't we carry it over to the
table and see?"

"i could look... now, poppy."

"I'm sure you could, but let's all look together. If there is air under there
and it's covered with icing, I'm sure we'd all like to see it."

He dried his hands, lifted Jake up and set him on his feet on the ground.
"Why don't you tell your nomi to join us, okay?"

"'kay!" He started off, but stopped and turned back around. "poppy, does
frosted air taste good?"

"We may be about to find out, Jake."

Both Jim and Blair watched as Jake trotted out to the living room to get his
nomi, and as soon as he was out of ear shot, Jim said, "Where did she put the
bike and jacket?"

"It's upstairs."

"So how we gonna do this?"

"Well, while he's sitting at the dining room table with chocolate frosting
all over his face, you're going to wheel it down here."

"I am?"

"You am."

Jake had Naomi by the hand and was dragging her, apparently unwillingly, back
to the dining room table. "but you have to come, my nomi. we're going to taste
frosted air!"

"Oh, well, then, by all means, Jake," she said with laughter bubbling up in
her voice.

Blair carried the cake platter to the table and said, "Jim, you might want to
get those small plates - just in case this frosted air is good."

Jake got up into his chair and immediately on his knees. "an' don't forget
the milk, just in case, poppy!"

Plates, cups, more forks and milk were set down. The domed platter was set in
front of Jake, much like his dinner had been earlier. Jim stepped unobtrusively
back into the kitchen and got to work with the real cake.

With a glance at Jim, who nodded, Blair said, "Okay, Jake, you want to take
the cover off and we'll check out this so-called 'frosted air'?"

At that moment, the light over the table went off, as did the one in the
kitchen.

"daddy?"

"Oh, Ja-ake," Jim sing-songed.

Jake whipped around to find his father walking toward him, a plate in his
hands. On the plate sat a tall chocolate cake alight with candles that
brightened his father's huge smile. As he watched, thunderstruck, everyone
started singing.

The fake platter was quickly moved out of the way and the cake set down in
front of him.

"Okay, Jake," Blair said. "You need to make a wish and blow out the candles.
If you get all of them out, your wish will come true."

"it will?"

"Yep," Blair affirmed. "Now go ahead and give it your best shot."

Jake leaned forward, eyes shining bright as he took in the five candles
flickering merrily and his name written on top of the cake. He grinned, put a
hand on each side of the platter, inhaled, held it, and finally... blew it out
... hard.

The candles flickered... and died.

Jim, Blair and Naomi began to clap even as Jake did the same. "i did it,
daddy, i did it!"

"You sure did. Now let's cut this thing and dig in, okay?"

"yipppeee!"

Jake sat back and patted his tummy. "i be stuffted," he proclaimed,
completely satisfied.

"Not bad for frosted air, eh?" Blair asked as put his own fork down and then
ran a finger over the edge of his plate to scoop up the last of the frosting.

"nope!"

"The good news is that we have enough leftover that you get to repeat this
tomorrow," Naomi said as she got up and started to clear the table.

"i do?"

"You do. Well, all but the candles of course," she said as she walked into
the kitchen.

He looked puzzled and finally asked, "how come i get to cely... cely-brate...
my birthday twice?"

Jim snagged Jake's napkin and used it to wipe some frosting off his son's
chin as he said, "Well, birthdays often fall during the week and you can't have
a party with all your friends then, remember? So we're having your official
birthday party tomorrow. But tonight - tonight it's just us."

"but my gampy and unca stevie will be there tomorrow, right?"

"Yep, and Simon, and Daryl, and all your classmates and Corky and Cherry and
even Mrs. Wheaton," Blair said after he downed the last of his coffee.

Jake held up his left hand. Tweaking his index finger, he said, "so birthday
brekkie at home and my pressie," he tweaked the next finger, "cupcakes and
punchy at school and i got spanked five times, but it didn't hurt and everyone
sang happy birthday to me," another finger went down, "and my special birthday
dinner tonight with a cake and real candles and my cake said happy birthday
jake," and finally his pinky, "and tomorrow, i get a real party wif all my
friends and we get to play games and you said i could have more cake and this
time wif ice creamy and you said my friends would bring me even more pressies,
right?"

Blair nodded and waited for the inevitable shoe to drop. None of them had to
wait long.

"so... can i have another birthday next week?" he asked innocently.

Jake sat in his nomi's lap as she read to him. The fire blazed in the fire
place and Blair sat in the chair watching his son. So far, even though Jake knew
the only presents he'd be receiving the next day would be those from friends and
his grandfather and uncle, he hadn't even mentioned the lack of a bike or a
horse. Blair looked at his watch. Almost time to leave, which meant time for one
more surprise for their son.

He got up, and Jim, seeing his movement, nodded and rose. "Time to go home,
Jake. Party day will come awfully early tomorrow," he said as Jim started up the
stairs.

"do we have to go now, daddy? we could stay here tonight, we could."

"Who'd say goodnight to the koi?"

"oh. okay, if we have to, we have to."

"We have to. Now, why don't you go get your jacket and backpack and then kiss
your nomi good-night, okay?"

Jake jumped off his grandmother's lap and walked over to the "Jake height"
hook that held his jacket. He put it on and ran back to his nomi, who scooped
him up. He flung his arms around her and gave her a huge kiss, followed by an
eskimo kiss and finally a butterfly kiss. "i love you, my nomi!"

"I love you right back, Jake. Happy birthday, and I'll see you tomorrow for
your party, okay?"

"promuse?"

"Cross my heart."

"Wow," Jim said from above. "Look what I found."

All eyes turned expectantly toward the stairs but only one set widened in
shock.

Jim stood at the top of the stairs, his hands on a bright, shiny red,
pintsized bicycle. Hanging from the handlebars was an equally shiny, official
red and yellow satin Cascade Kits Baseball Team jacket.

Naomi set Jake down, but he didn't move. His eyes took in every line, every
detail of the bike and jacket even as Blair went down on one knee next to him
and whispered, "The jacket is from your nomi, Jake." Blair slowly slid Jake's
blue jacket off his unresisting son and then gave him a small, gentle push. "Go
on, check it out."

Jim started down the stairs, bike now raised up. When he hit the bottom, he
put the bike down on its kickstand and waited.

Jake tore his gaze away and looked up at his nomi. "my jacket, my nomi?"

"Yours, Jake. And it's just your size," she said with a soft smile.

"but it's... shiny," he said in awe.

"Yes, it is, because unlike the ones most folks have, this one is the
official jacket of the team members," she answered proudly. Then she leaned down
and whispered, "Don't forget to check the pockets, okay?"

That was all Jake needed. He took off on a run. Jim plucked the jacket off
the handlebars and held it out. Jake skidded to a stop, turned around and
allowed his father to slip his jacket on him. It was a perfect fit. Jake
immediately dug into the right pocket and pulled out a white envelope. He tore
into it and found a birthday card with a grey wolf seated next to a jaguar. Jake
looked up at Naomi and said, "the lonely jaggywar and the faithful wolfie! how
did you know, my nomi?"

"Let's just say... I knew."

He opened the card and his eyes nearly popped out. Inside, along with the
birthday greeting, was a clean, crisp, fifty dollar bill.

Jim, seeing the money, said, "Wow, Hoss, that's a lot of green stuff. We may
need to open a bank account for you."

Staring down at the money, Jake said, "how much is it, poppy?"

"Well, let me put it this way; it's your Christmas money for the next few
years."

"wow," Jake breathed out.

"Check the other pocket, honey," Naomi urged.

Blair was standing next to her and at her words, he frowned and whispered,
"Mom, what else did you--"

But Jake was already pulling out the next present. He held them up and
started jumping up and down, having immediately recognized the three items as
tickets to a Kits game.

"lookeeeee, lookeeeee, tickets, daddy, poppy! i get to go again!"

"Mom, you--"

"Yes, I should have," Naomi said with a gentle smile directed at her son.

By now, Jake was holding his bike and running his hands over every inch of
it. Jim got down on one knee and said, "What say we get this home and you can
get on it in the courtyard before we go inside and go to bed?"

The bike was in the back of the truck and Jake, having kissed his nomi
good-bye no less than three times, was in his car seat. Next to him, all
packaged up, sat their leftovers, including the cake. Blair gave his mother a
hug and another kiss and said, "Thanks, mom. This was a great idea doing the
family party here tonight."

She wiped some lipstick from his cheek as she said, "It was, wasn't it? And
don't worry about tomorrow. Keeba and I have everything under control. We'll be
there early and by the time you and Jim arrive with Jake, it'll look great."

Blair bit his lower lip. "Damn, maybe it's not too late to cancel the
tilt-a-whirl and the elephant...."

"Blair, honey, everyone's excited about this party, and all the parents are
coming, not to mention Mrs. Wheaton. It's as much of a school party as it is
Jake's birthday, and let's face it, you and Jim are rather unique parents. This
will really get you off to a good start, so stop obsessing."

Naomi laughed even as she gave her son a gentle push toward the car. "Go.
Everything will be wonderful tomorrow and you and Jim will have given Jake
something he'll never forget."

Blair opened the door and got in. As he fastened the seatbelt, he said, "I
can't get over this, I'm obsessing. Maybe I should call Doctor Franks."

"Very funny, Blair. Very funny." Naomi ducked down to peer at her son-in-law.
"Jim, get him out of here, okay? And Blair, honey, Doctor Franks retired years
ago."

Jake bounced back and forth on his feet as he watched his father take his new
bike out of the truck. As soon as the wheels hit the concrete, he took over,
insisting that he could walk it into the courtyard. With a hand on each side, he
began the laborious process of avoiding the spinning pedals. Jim and Blair
walked a couple of feet behind him - watching - and smiling.

"He looks so damn cute," Blair whispered.

"He's being so damn careful... will you look at him? He still has that walk,
you know?"

"I know. I never get enough of watching that 'just the other side of toddler'
walk."

They followed him from the carport, through the gate, which Jim buzzed open,
and finally into the center of the courtyard. Jake turned his head until he
could see his fathers. "one ride?" he asked, the hope nearly a living thing.

"It's late, Jake. Almost nine. Maybe we'd better--"

"i be very careful. just one ride ...to the door, daddy?"

"Mmm, well, you have to go to the door anyway... right, Jim?"

"I'm thinking... right."

Blair walked over and took the bike in order to hold it steady while Jim
lifted Jake and put him on the seat.

"Okay, feet on the pedals... that's right, now push...."

Jake started to pedal, hands gripping the handlebars tightly even though his
father was actually holding the bike. He turned his head to see his poppy and
asked, "how fast should i pedal, poppy?"

"You're doing fine, Hoss. How's it feel?"

He giggled. "it feels goooooood!"

They reached the stoop and Jim stopped the forward movement and held the bike
steady while Blair coached Jake on the fine art of climbing off a bike. A moment
later, face happily flushed, Jake was pushing the beloved bike into the house.

It was a foregone conclusion that Jake would insist on having his new
transportation in his bedroom with him. The only surprise was that after his
bath, he didn't ask to be allowed to sleep with it. He seemed content to sleep
with Jakey ... and his new Kits jacket.

Yawning, he pulled the covers to his chin and smiled sleepily up at his
parents. "i like birthdays, daddy and poppy. we should have one every day."

Fingers combing back the still-damp curls, Blair said, "But then think how
old you'd be now, Jake. We'd have to send you off to college and by next week,
you'd have to find a job, and by Halloween, you'd have two children of your
own."

Giggling, Jake captured Blair's hand and held on for a moment before letting
go. "what time do we go to unca simon's tomorrow for my party, daddy?"

"Oh, we'll head over around one. You want to be there before your friends so
you can welcome them, right?"

"right!"

Jim bent down and kissed Jake's cheek as he said, "Sleep tight, Hoss."

Blair did the same and added his own good-night as Jake yawned again and
finally, in a low, sleepy voice, said, "nighty-night, daddy and poppy. and thank
you for my bestest day ever."

Jim slipped his arm around Blair's waist and said, "You're very welcome,
Hoss. Love you. Now kiss Jakey good night and we'll see you in the morning."

Jake did as told, rolled over on his side, still gripping both Jakey and his
jacket, and closed his eyes. It had been a long day and it only took a few
moments for him to drift off. When Blair was certain Jake was sound asleep, he
gently removed the jacket and hung it up before joining Jim in the hall.

They walked out into the living room and, in silent agreement, kept going
until they were in the kitchen. Jim put on the water for tea and sat down with
Blair at the table. He took his hand in his own and said, "It was a very good
day, wasn't it?"

"Nope. She thinks since Jake's class is benefiting, and with all the parents
involved, it's more like a huge block party. Therefore - not overboard.
Personally, I can't wait to see what you want to do when he turns six."

"I'm buying him a circus, silly."

Blair looked up from his examination of their entwined fingers and grinned.
"I figured as much. A country when he turns sixteen?"

"Nah, I was saving that for his bar mitzvah."

Blair looked up at that and said, "Now, Jim, you know damn well that being
Jewish comes from the mother. And I am not the little woman in this
relationship, you are. Okay, you're the tall, chicken-legged woman, but still."

"What's with you and my legs? You love my legs, Sandburg."

"I love chicken legs too, or haven't you noticed? And you called me Sandburg
again, but I'm not quite ready for some really good sex. I think we need to
talk."

"We are weird and we don't have to be rich or celebrities to have a great
birthday party for our son, and yes, we're probably trying to... maybe ... but I
think overcompensate is the wrong word. We're trying to... we almost lost him
last month, came so damn close to losing him, and then this whole thing with
Henderson, and then we had to go to court again for Jake - and the adoption
still isn't settled - and there we were, two gay men and even though--"

Blair placed two fingers over Jim's lips. "It's okay. We're just... really
grateful to have him and we're maybe, just maybe, spoiling him a wee bit.
Because we almost lost him last month, but we didn't and he's ours now because
the court appearance next month is strictly a formality so maybe we're even
trying to celebrate... a bit. And he's a good kid and this won't hurt him ...
much, but God knows what we're going to do next year to top this, but hey, we're
both imaginative so I'm hopeful."

"Works for me, Sandburg," Jim said with a grin.

"Man, you so want my body."

"Works for me, Sandburg."

Saturday, September 30 - Big Day #2Keeba double-checked the coolers and
nodded in satisfaction. Everything was still cold and ready for the barbecue.
The two big tubs of ice cream were doing well as were the gallon jugs of punch
and lemonade. They had plenty of ice for the entire day... yep, they were ready.
She smiled over at Naomi, who grinned back. Terry walked over and wiped the
sweat from his brow.

"Man, those guys really work fast. They tired me out just watching 'em."

Keeba kissed her husband's cheek. "I'm sure that watching them putting both
rides together was tiring, dear."

"Hey, who did all this?" he said as he waved an arm around the area.

"Simon, Rafe, Henri...."

Naomi grinned as she let her words trail off.

"I helped," Terry whined. "I worked very hard on those blow-up plastic
balloons."

"Yes, you did. No one could have done any better than you, honey. Firemen are
well known for their ... hot air."

Terry rolled his eyes and said, "I walked into that one, didn't I?"

"Yep," Keeba agreed.

"mommy, when is jakey supposed to be here?"

Keeba glanced down at her daughter and said, "Any minute, sweetie."

Cherry immediately ran back over to the far table where Corky sat patiently
waiting his friend's arrival.

"corky, corky, he's on his way!" Cherry yelled gleefully.

Corky jumped up and ran to meet her half-way. They danced around each other
while chanting Jake's name.

Naomi watched and shook her head in amazement. "I can't get over the
friendship between Cherry, Jake and Corky. They really are unbelievable."

Keeba, also watching the two children, said, "I know. It's very rare. The
bond the three of them have, for children their age? It breaks all the rules."

Naomi watched the two more thoughtfully... and finally said, "I think it's a
friendship that will endure, Keeba. We're lucky to be able to witness it."

Simon, followed by Megan, pulled onto the dirt and both parked. All the doors
opened on both vehicles and a good chunk of Major Crime spilled out. Most of
them had bags in their arms and all quickly joined Naomi, Terry, and Keeba.
Simon walked immediately over to Naomi and kissed her cheek as he said, "We come
back bearing gifts, the cake, and the rest of the goodies."

"And not a minute too soon," Naomi said. "Jim and Blair should be here any
minute and Jake's friends should start arriving in the next twenty minutes or
so."

"Hey, where's the elephant?" Rafe asked, puzzled.

"It'll be arriving at two," Naomi answered.

"Okay, what about the pony?"

"Rafe, I swear, you and animals." Henri made a playful jab at his friend.

"Hey, I want to see Jake's face, not to mention his classmates, when the pony
arrives," Rafe said, ducking the fist.

"And you want a ride on the elephant," Megan said, laughter bubbling up.

"Well, yeah," he admitted sheepishly.

"Megan, isn't John coming?" Joel asked.

"He'll be here but later in the day. He had to see his brother about some
construction work they need to do on the Anjasmayo."

"Blair never mentioned anything," Simon said as he and Naomi arranged the
platters of fruit and vegetables.

"It's for one of the tenants. They're doing some kind of spa thing in the
bathroom and the project has taken on gigantic proportions."

"Ah. Well, as long as he doesn't miss the cake, eh?" Simon grinned at Connor.

"Jake, you're kicking poppy's seat."

The kicking stopped. Jim turned off Seventh Street, drove another five
minutes... and the kicking started again.

"Jake, you're kicking poppy's seat again."

The kicking stopped. Jim drove up Manchester for a mile before turning right
onto Emerson. The kicking started again.

Blair turned around in his seat. "Jake, I know you're excited, but you have
to stop the jiggling."

"'kay."

The kicking stopped.

Jim drove past the mall and made a left onto Chestnut. The kicking started
again. Blair was about to say something when Jim squeezed his thigh. "Just a few
more minutes and we'll be there. You can't contain him, Chief."

"Good point."

The nervous jiggling that was resulting in the kicking continued unabated
until Jim turned left on Elm instead of right.

"poppy? unca simon lives that way."

Jim glanced at Blair and said, "How many five year olds could tell their
father that?"

"Not many," Blair agreed with a chuckle.

"poppy?"

"Hoss, we're actually going to the empty field behind Uncle Simon's house. In
fact, take a look."

Jake immediately looked out his window and gasped.

Jim pulled onto the dirt and parked next to Naomi's Mini-Cooper. Blair got
out and walked around to the driver's side and opened the passenger door. He
grinned as he reached in to free Jake, who was now trying desperately to see
around his father. Blair lifted him out, even though Jake was perfectly capable
of unhooking himself and jumping down.

Once on the ground, he moved forward to get a better view ... and froze in
place. Blair looked over him at Jim, who smiled back before getting a good look
at the field himself.

"They did a great job, Chief," he murmured.

"Yeah, they did."

In the grassiest area of the field, under the three elms, several tables had
been erected. All of them had gaily colored table cloths spread over their
surfaces along with balloons festooning each corner while huge plastic balloon
decorations hung from the various branches of the trees. A barbecue stood
several feet away, and beyond that, a red and gold popcorn wagon sat next to a
round table that held a large silver cotton candy maker. To the left of the
trees, a small electric merry-go-round sat next to the red, white and blue
tilt-a-whirl.

Jake took another small step forward, almost on tip-toe, as if he couldn't
believe what he was seeing.

"daddy? poppy?"

They each put a hand on one of Jake's shoulders and said, "Yes?"

Suddenly Jake turned around to face his father. Eyes huge, he lifted his
arms. Blair picked him up and rested his cheek against Jake's. "Happy birthday,
Hoss."

Together, the two men, Jake still in Blair's arms, headed for the party site.

"Heads up, gang, our birthday boy just arrived," Terry said.

Everyone immediately looked toward the row of cars in time to see Jake being
set on the ground by Blair. They smiled as they watched the small figure take a
few steps before stopping to take in the view before him. Then they watched in
amazement as he turned and raised his arms.

"My poor baby," Naomi murmured. "He's overwhelmed by it all."

"Blair looks all right to me," Simon said with a teasing grin.

"Very funny, Simon," Naomi said as she poked him in the ribs.

Jake was still clinging to Blair, unwilling to let go even when Corky and
Cherry ran up to them. The gang, realizing they needed to take it slow, simply
said their hellos and went about their business. Naomi kissed Jake while Simon
ran his fingers through Jake's curls and wished him a happy birthday. Jake
grinned a small grin and ducked his head under Blair's chin. Jim stepped in
front of Blair and put his hand on the back of Jake's neck.

Jim smiled tenderly as Blair smoothed the back of his hand down Jake's cheek.
"Yeah, Hoss, for you," Jim whispered. "Happy birthday."

Blair touched his lips to Jake's ear, causing him to giggle softly. "You'll
never be five again. This is a big one, Jake," Blair whispered. "Time to join
your friends and go exploring."

"'s'ploring?"

"Yep."

"i could do that - i could."

Blair lowered him to the ground and Corky and Cherry immediately jumped all
over him. A moment later, all three had scampered off to "check-out" the rides.

"Okay, that was a moment," Jim said as he exhaled a relieved breath.

"If it had been a surprise party, he couldn't have been any more surprised,"
Blair said. "Or overwhelmed. But he's nothing if not adaptable," he finished
with proud grin.

The party was in full swing with all Jake's classmates having arrived within
minutes of each other. The parents were enjoying the beer while mingling and
getting to know one another. The burgers, dogs and fish were grilling and the
children were having a ball with the rides, the face painter, the games, and the
elephant -- which had arrived at two. Steven showed up at two-thirty and, after
the appropriate hugs and kisses from his nephew, assured Jake that "gampa" would
arrive, albeit a bit later.

At two forty-five, Blair broke out the party hats and every one came running,
that being the signal that the food was ready. Adults and children scrambled for
seats but not before getting a hat from Blair. Coned birthday-toppers on their
heads, Jim, Terry and Simon began serving. There was enough for everyone to have
one of everything and the children seemed to actually have more fun with the
fish tacos than the hot dogs or burgers, although those went fast too. Chips,
dips and various salads rounded out the meal.

Just as the last of the food disappeared, a truck pulling a horse trailer
drove onto the field.

"Hey, Jake, looks like grandpa is here," Blair observed as he nodded in the
direction of the vehicle.

Jake was up in a flash and running toward the now stopped truck. William
Ellison got out of the passenger side and immediately went down on one knee and
held open his arms. Jake flew into them yelling, "gampa, you came!'

Standing, William kissed his grandson and said, "Of course I did. Didn't
Steven tell you I'd be late?"

"yeppers! but gampa, my birthday lunch is over."

"Well, surely you saved some for me?" William asked, trying to look worried
but failing in the face of the happy youngster in his arms.

"poppy did, ab-so-luuuuut-leeeee."

"Good, because I'm starved, Jake."

A sudden sound from the trailer caught Jake's attention and he peeked around
his grandfather's head to peer at it in curiosity. William, seeing the interest,
said with a grin, "That's why I'm late, Jake."

By this time, Jim and Blair had reached them, along with most of the
children, parents and Major Crime gang. Simon stood next to Blair, Naomi next to
him. Steven walked around to the back of the trailer with the driver and began
to unhook the door.

"See," William continued, "a little bird told me that a certain birthday boy
wanted something special for his birthday."

Blinking rapidly, Jake said in wonder, "i'm a birthday boy, gampa, but my
real birthday was yesterday, but we're having my party today 'cuz it's the
weekend and my daddy says it's easier."

"Did you ask for something special, Jake?" William asked, his eyes dancing
with humor.

Jake put a finger to his lips and closed his eyes in thought. Finally he
opened his eyes and looked at the trailer again, this time, in disbelief. "i...
i... asked... for...."

He couldn't go any further, instead choosing to wrap his arms around
William's neck in as close to a stranglehold that a five year old could manage.
William glanced over at his son, silently asking what the heck was going on. Jim
shrugged and smiled as if to say, "You're on your own, Pops." Blair, on the
other hand, took pity on the man and said, "Why don't I take the Jake-shaped
leech off your hands, William, while you show everyone what you brought?"

Jake didn't even blink. He simply let go and drifted into his father's arms.
William, now free to move a bit easier, said, as he led everyone to the back of
the trailer, "When I heard that Wellington Elementary School had a horse that
the kindergartners and first graders could take care of, and then heard that
Mount Rainier no longer had one, well, I thought something ought to be done
about that. So, in honor of Jake's birthday, and in Jake's name, the
Ellison-Sandburg-Porter family would like to donate...."

The driver of the horse trailer pulled open the door and Steven reached in,
took the lead rope and slowly led a small, chestnut pony out of the trailer.

"...JayBee. the official Mount Rainier School's pony," William finished with
a huge grin.

Pandemonium reigned.

The children had petted, kissed, cooed, and oohed over JayBee, their official
mascot. The pony, an extremely gentle soul, reacted in kind by nuzzling the
children and occasionally butting them gently in order to encourage a hand-out
of carrots - supplied by the horse trainer - and more petting.

Jake was stunned, awed, and completely overwhelmed. At his expression, Blair
realized that when he'd asked for a pony, he'd never in a million years actually
expected one. While the other children and Mrs. Wheaton continued to play with
JayBee, Blair took Jake aside. He sat down under a tree and pulled Jake onto his
lap. Arms wrapped securely around the still-shocked child, he said, "You
understand what's happening, Jake? With JayBee?"

Jake, eyes still on the horse, nodded. "he be mine, but he be my school's
too, daddy."

"Exactly. He'll stay at the school's stable and your class will spend a
certain amount of hours with him every week. You'll learn how to groom him, feed
and exercise him. You'll all learn how to saddle him and then, eventually, to
ride him. In two years, when you're older, and JayBee is older, we'll move him
to your grandfather's stables and if you're still interested in horseback
riding, you'll learn even more about riding. Just like your poppy."

That got Jake's attention. His head whipped around and he stared at his
father. "my poppy?"

"Yep. He learned to ride a horse, to really ride a horse, when he was seven.
He loved, and still loves, horseback riding, but doesn't get as many
opportunities to ride nowadays. But with JayBee, maybe we'll all get involved
now."

Jake looked back at "his" horse. He frowned and said, "i guess... jaybee
can't sleep with me and jakey, can he?"

Blair laughed and said, "No, afraid not, Hoss."

Jim watched Blair talk with Jake, listened to their voices, and smiled
softly. Leave it to Blair to explain in a way that Jake could understand.

"You all right, Jimmy?"

He turned from his family to look at his father. "I'm fine. Blair is
explaining everything to Jake. Seems his only regret is that JayBee can't sleep
with him."

William's gaze softened. "You said the same thing about Toledo."

"I did?"

"You did. You were very upset that he couldn't come home with you."

They smiled at each other. William broke the moment by saying, "This was
okay, wasn't it?"

"It was very okay, Pops. A couple of years ago, you'd have never thought of
donating the pony to the entire school. You did good."

If William could have puffed up, he would have. And just as quickly, he would
have deflated. "You don't think Jake is disappointed that the pony doesn't just
belong to him?"

"I can promise you that he most certainly isn't. He's so happy, Dad, it's
almost too much for him."

"Almost," William said with a conspiratorial grin.

"Almost," Jim agreed with his own smile. "By the way, why JayBee?"

"J & B, Jimmy. Jim and Blair."

Jim's mouth dropped open.

The rides were gone, as was the elephant. The Cascade PD truck had come and
gone, with the popcorn and cotton candy machine safely tucked away in
preparation for the city's Halloween carnival, CPD Festival in November and
Founders Day next summer. All the presents had been opened and Jake's stash of
clothes, toys, puzzles, coloring books and reading books were packed away in the
truck. The pony-themed birthday cake was a distant memory, as was the
chocolate-mint ice cream. Any other food that had been leftover had gone home
with the children and their parents - except for the beer, which was currently
being enjoyed by the official clean-up crew made up of Jim, Blair, John Holden,
Simon, William, Steven and Terry. Naomi, Megan and Keeba were relaxing under one
of the last tables still up, and enjoying the last of the strawberry-flavored
lemonade. The pony, alas, had already been packed up and delivered to the Mount
Rainier stable, but not before a final kiss had been bestowed upon it by Jake.
Jaybee had then shown a real affinity for Jake's curls, causing him to break out
into a delightful fit of giggles.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that come Monday, JayBee would have more
love than any horse alive.

Cherry, Jake and Corky were now lying in the soft grass and making "pony"
plans while trying to outdo each other in describing the clouds overhead. All
three were pleasantly exhausted.

Jim glanced over at them and smiled. "I thought those three were deliriously
happy at the Fourth of July picnic, but I think they're even happier today."

Blair lifted his bottle to Jim's and let them gently clink. "I'll second
that. We all done good today, guys."

"Amen," Simon said. "I'm glad Jake wasn't too disappointed that Daryl
couldn't make it, but the debate was rescheduled and there was nothing he could
do about it. Such is the life of a college debater."

"I don't honestly think he had time to miss Daryl once things really got
going. And the stack of reading books Daryl sent him stalled the whole birthday
present assembly line for ten minutes," Blair said. "I swear, getting him to
stop and move on to the next present was almost as big a chore as getting this
place cleaned up."

"It was the same way last Christmas. Each present is treated as if it's the
only one. He's always so danged surprised when another is handed over," Simon
commented with a fond look over at Jake. "When Daryl was that age, he'd open it,
oooh and aah, then toss it over his shoulder and move on to the next."

"Same with Steven. Jimmy, on the other hand, took ten minutes just to open a
gift. Then he'd do the same thing as Jake."

"Daaaaad," Jim and Steven said together.

Laughing, William said, "Hey, it's true."

"And after Jim opened each gift, he'd fold the wrapping paper into neat
squares and pile them one on top of the other," Blair said with a straight face.

"How'd you know, Blair?" William asked.

"Simple. He still does it. It's so ingrained now that it's habit. Didn't you
notice he was taking Jake's paper - OUCH!" Blair rubbed his arm where Jim had
pinched him.

"Naomi, what was Blair like with his presents?" Jim asked.

"Blair? He was kind of... in between. If it was clothing, he'd toss it. But
if it was a toy, he had to open it, figure it out, put it together, and play
with it right away. And if it was a book? Everything ground to a complete halt
while he made me read to him, at least until he learned to read himself."

"Ah, so nothing's changed," Jim said sagely. "Clothes still get tossed and
toys still have to be played with immediately."

With a rather pointed look of his own, Blair said, "Yeah, but Jim, the toys
have changed - a lot - and you tend to want to ... help me... play with them."

Jim blushed a healthy red as Simon held up a hand and said, "TMI, guys. TMI."

Steven pounded his brother on the back and said, "You deserved that one,
bro."

John, laughing, tossed his empty beer bottle into the last trash bag and
said, "Okay, on that note, I'm going to collect Megan and we're going to head
out. I suddenly have the hankering to play." He winked, shook hands with
everyone, hugged Jim and Blair and walked over to the table. Megan got up, said
her good-byes, and both walked over to the children to say their last good-byes.
Jake jumped up and hugged his "meggy" and like a grown-up, shook John's hand
before laughing uproariously and throwing himself at the man.

"You know, I think heading home is a good idea. Daryl's going to call later
and hopefully will be sending me the debate. It'll be squinty vision on my
computer, but until he gets back on Monday and I can see the video, it'll do."

With that, everyone agreed it was time to call it a day. The last table was
packed up in the back of Simon's car, the last of the trash was dumped and Jake
kissed and thanked everyone. Cherry gave him a hug and waved at Corky, who would
be going with Jim, Blair and Jake and dropped off at home. Naomi hugged Jake
hard, kissed him again, and then got into her car to follow Simon, who'd invited
her for dinner and to view the debate.

Keeba, Terry and Cherry said their good-byes after making plans to meet
mid-week for a thank you dinner at the Anjasmayo. William and Steven, who, after
soliciting a promise that they'd be joined the next morning for brunch, were the
last to leave. With a sigh of contentment, Jim climbed into the truck.

"Okay, guys, are we ready to go home?"

"we be ready, poppy!"

"we be very ready, mister jim!"

Jim waited.

Rolling his eyes, Blair said, "We're ready, Jimbo."

Jim backed up and headed home.

Inside their home, a fire blazed brightly while outside, the fall weather
that had held its self in abeyance for Jake's birthday party, now took over. It
was raining.

The rest of the chops and macaroni and cheese had been devoured at seven,
along with more of Jake's chocolate cake. All of Jake's presents had been put in
to his room, with the toys on his play table, the books in the book shelves,
except for the one Blair would read to him before going to bed. Showers and
baths had been taken, the house tidied up and now two very tired men lay on the
couch, their legs entangled. Jim was catching up on the day's events with the
Saturday paper while Blair read the latest Clive Cussler, his glasses perched on
the end of his nose. The sound of the rain, combined with the crackling fire,
lulled both men into a state of delicious contentment.

Blair put the book down. "Oh, man, I have got to see this." He slid his legs
out from under Jim's and got up. He waited, eyebrows arched.

"Right." Jim folded the paper and got to his feet.

Together, they walked into the hall, stopping just outside Jake's room. Much
like they'd done at the loft, Blair stood in front of Jim as both men peered
inside.

Jake sat on the floor in the middle of the room, his new toys surrounding
him. In his hand he held Jakey.

"...and this is my new speedy car and it's 'lectric and corky gave it to me,
and over here is my new sponge bob pillow and cherry gave that to me with these
super duper sponge bobby coloring pens, and this is a book on jaggywars and this
is a book on saving the wolves...."

Slowly Jim's arm snuck around Blair's and Blair leaned into the warmth behind
him and they watched Jake share his birthday haul with Jakey the wolfpup. Jim
lowered his head until his lips were barely touching Blair's ear. "You realize
that tomorrow - it's teaching him to ride a bike, right?" he whispered.